


Bouquet of friendship

by nymphori



Series: 1001 ways to be romantic [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:59:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6047398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nymphori/pseuds/nymphori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>912</b>: get help from hotel concierges! They’re great resources, and they’ll get nearly anything done for you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bouquet of friendship

Koutarou hates when he has to go to the conferences because it means that he has to sit in a stuffy room with all the office workers. It’s exhausting, even though all he has to do is sit down all day. _It’s boring_. He didn’t _want_ a desk job, he didn’t _want_ to be sitting down. Koutarou can’t handle it, he wants to be moving, always moving. He has energy to burn and unless he fancies getting cosy with one of the office workers the conferences generally present no chance for him to siphon his energy off.

It's so boring to sit through everything. Especially when the bid for appeals won’t be happening until Friday. He has two long days of presentations to sit through and then it will finally be his turn, and then he has to wait again while the stuffy office workers deliberate everything and he just has to hope that this time they get passed on a grant. Koutarou hasn’t yet figured out what exactly his job will become without a grant, but for the moment he doesn’t need to worry. For the moment the judges find his manner appealing, and even when he messes up words in his speeches he finds their small group maintaining the budget they request.

The only upside that Koutarou has found so far at this particular meeting, is that the pretty grant officer is staying in the room next door to his.

 

 

Koutarou hasn’t talked to him yet, or ever. Not in the two years that the new grant officer has been coming to the conferences. Not at the formal events they need to go to, not at dinners in the hotel dining hall, not in the elevator when they had been going up to check into their rooms earlier in the day or even just now going back up to settle in for the night. It was a pain, because not only was the guy attractive, but he seemed to be one of the few people that was also Koutarou’s age. Most of the decision making people and those chosen to present were older, Koutarou’s parent’s ages, and didn’t seem to like his personality of his hairstyle.

The pretty guy might have appreciated it, if only Koutarou could either start a conversation himself or hope that the other guy would start one up for him. It would probably help if Koutarou could remember his name, but Koutarou tended to remember names with facts. Like knowing Fujiwara had a wife at home who bred dogs, Yoshikawa’s wife was a cardiologist, Umemoto had three children at home one of whom had played at koshien the previous year, and Natsukawa had a vegetable garden on her balcony that was large enough to be self sustainable. 

He didn't know anything like this to help him remember the guy in the room next to him, which meant that when they had been introduced the guy had probably only given a name to go with his position and not any interesting facts that Koutarou could latch on to.

Kuroo would probably know his name, Kuroo knew everyone’s name. And if the pretty guy had been hired around the same time that he had started showing up at the conferences, Kuroo had probably sat in on the interview panel. Would Kuroo know who he was talking about if Koutarou asked for the name of the pretty guy next door? It was worth a try.

 

 

“How’s the conference going?”

“Urgh-”

“Wow, sounds fun! I wish I could have gone!”

“Kuroo! It’s so boring!” 

“Have you still not made any _special friends_? Isn’t it like being back on school camps? You should have fun!”

“Kuroo! I can’t do that with people I work with!”

“Why not?” Koutarou paused. Kuroo’s voice had sounded light over the phone. Not teasing, not provoking, simply curious as to why Koutarou actually thought that.

“What if I’m bad and they don’t pass on the grant because of it?”

“Bokuto?”

“Mmm.”

“You’re not bad-”

“You have to say that.”

“Bokuto if you were bad I would have dropped you ages ago.”

“Really?”

“Really. So make make a _friend_. Although because you’re at a hotel I guess you can’t play up that you forgot to bring a sleeping bag and hope that someone feels sorry enough for you to share.”

“You’re just jealous that you never thought to do that!”

“Probably true, you’re a genius Bokuto. So tell me, is there anyone in your sights?” Koutarou thought back to the pretty boy in the room next door, although Koutarou would be interested, he also wasn’t because what if he ruined being able to be friends with someone? “You paused, that means it’s a yes.”

“I don’t know!” Koutarou whined into the phone. “He’s the only one I think I can be friends with, but I haven’t talked to him yet. I don’t even remember his name, I’m useless!”

“ _You_ don’t remember someone's name? They must be really boring.” Koutarou grumbled under his breath. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“You weren’t meant to.” There was no reply. He took a deep sigh. “I said he’s really pretty though.”

“Hmm, hold that thought. I have a call to make.”

Instead of hanging up the phone, Koutarou was left on the line, listening to Kuroo shuffling around. He must have still been at work, even though it was more than late enough to be considered after hours.

“Akaashi!” Koutarou couldn’t hear any form of reply. Could only hear whatever Kuroo was saying to the mysterious person over the phone. “Have you thought any more about the application I gave you? I think an interview might help you make a more informed decision with regards to filling the position.” _Wait…_  “The interview would be you, me, and a cafe because a restaurant is a bit too formal for the position of interest don’t you think? Whatever questions you have, I will answer.” _Did_ _Kuroo… actually do it?_ “Wait Akaashi! Don’t hang up! That wasn’t what I really called for. Have you seen a guy with ridiculous hair-”

“Oi!” Koutarou shouted into the phone, although he wasn’t sure if Kuroo heard him.

“-looks like he has more muscle than he knows what to do with, but trust me, he knows exactly how to use it!” Koutarou could _feel_ the wink Kuroo sent over the phone, even though the other person would be unable to see it either. “Oh you know Bokuto then! He’s next door to you? That’s great all the information I needed. See you on Saturday Akaashi!” There was loud cackling laughter and Koutarou knew that Kuroo must have hung up the other phone. If Kuroo had really tried to get a date out of this Akaashi guy with the resume plan then Koutarou doubted he would let that sound be heard.

“So Bokuto, is Akaashi the pretty person that you want to be friends with?”

“I already told you I don’t know their name.”

“Makes sense, I don’t think Akaashi likes to stand out. You should see him at the dinner parties, well if you ever came to one you could see him.” Koutarou huffed into the phone. Kuroo was always trying to get him to go to work functions, but Koutarou didn’t want to wear a suit and talk to people who would insist he needed to do something about his hair or needed to talk quieter or insisting that he marry some daughter because they were sure to have healthy and energetic children. Koutarou was not made for that kind of work atmosphere. Spending half a week every time they needed their grant reapproved in meetings and presentations was more than enough for him. 

“But Akaashi is definitely pretty, I think everyone at the office either has a crush on him or has offered their daughters to him.”

“Even you.”

“Even me, although I think he’s playing hard to get.”

“You actually did the job application then? It was a joke, I was drunk, you weren’t meant to actually do it.”

“Hush hush, I can tell he’s interested. Anyway, this isn’t about me. You need a friend to make the week better. Akaashi can be your friend!”

“Are you ever going to tell me who Akaashi is?”

“Well, pretty, usually quiet and always looks like everyone around him has annoyed him in some way, loves to eat though, you should see him at a buffet it’s like a magic trick. Also apparently you’re recognisable because he said he was in the room next to you.”

“That’s the one you wanted to ask out!” Koutarou had sat through so many weekend phone calls with Kuroo agonising over the fact that the guy at his office didn’t respond to any of his advances. It had been all of his complaining which had Koutarou saying that Kuroo should apply for a date like he was applying a job. Kuroo’s job was hiring people and making sure they had satisfactory work lives, he knew how navigate through the mess of other people selling themselves, so it seemed logical that he would also know how to make an appeal for himself.

“Bokuto I’m probably the reason he wears that face. Seriously though, he’s nice enough once you get past the fact that he never softens his blows. If you annoy him he’ll let you know about it. It doesn’t mean he hates you though because I have a date on Saturday and he tells me I’m annoying at least once a week!”

“He actually says that?”

“He doesn’t say it so much as an aura of annoyance emanates from him whenever we talk for more than five minutes. _Ah_ , but they are always such a nice five minutes.”

“Could you please stop pining over someone else when you’re on the phone to me?”

“Sorry dude.”

“No you’re not.”

“I’m not, you’ve seen him.”

Koutarou had. Seen him, looked at him, possibly participated in some low key pining of his own, but that was all. “I have, so how do I become his friend?”

“Invite him out for food!”

“All our food is provided.”

“A drink then?”

“Kuroo I have my grant presentation on Friday morning.”

“Have the hotel send something to his room.”

“Room service is expensive, I would have to pay for that myself.” The only good part about going away to conferences was not having to pay for anything. The accommodation was always paid for, and depending on where they met they either had all their food provided or they were given a food allowance to tuck into. He didn’t have an allowance this time, and he did not want to go around spending his own money when he didn’t have to.

“It doesn’t have to be food it could be anything. Send flowers or chocolates or something.”

“Flowers and chocolates don’t sound like ‘hey, want to be my friend?’”

“You’re the one who asked for advice, don’t get angry at me _I’m_ trying to date him not be his friend.”

“Yeah, on _Saturday_. That’s usually our date night when I’m in town.”

“I thought we agreed you were coming over when you got back on Friday.”

“Oh yeah.”

“ _Oh yeah_." Kuroo repeated. "So you go make friends, and when you’re friends you can tell Akaashi all about what a fantastic guy I am! I need to get back to work.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

Koutarou listened as Kuroo kissed the mouthpiece of the phone, responded in kind, and then hung up.

 

 

They had a free hour before lunch because for once the morning meetings had gone through quickly. Koutarou should probably have been using the extra time to go through the paperwork for his appeal tomorrow, instead he found himself wandering the streets and looking for a flower shop. He still didn’t think it sounded like something to do to make friends, but it was the only lead he had for now. It was too hard to make friends with someone that he had seen so many times before but never spoken to. How did he go from not speaking for years to suddenly starting up a conversation?

The flower shop didn’t just sell flowers, they sold a lot of other things. They had bouquets of flowers, chocolates, lollies, and something Koutarou thought would be perfect. Especially when he could sign off the bill to be sent and paid at a later date - it wouldn’t be the first time that he forwarded it on to Kuroo. He earned enough money, he could allow Koutarou this. It had been his idea to send something to Akaashi in the first place.

He organised delivery for later in the day, told them which hotel and that they could get the hotel concierge to help them. Koutarou would let them know when he got back.

 

 

“A celebration?”

“Yes.” A celebration to remember the start of what would soon become a beautiful friendship.

“Oh, is it Akaashi-sama’s birthday?”

 _It could be_ , Koutarou guessed. “Yes!”

“We will get to it this afternoon. Please enjoy the rest of the day and leave everything to us.”

“Thank you very much!”

 

 

Koutarou found it hard to keep still at the best of times. Especially after an afternoon spent sitting down in meetings and then moving straight on to sitting down to dinner and drinks. Especially when after all of that he was in the elevator back to the room with Akaashi, trying to hide the fact that he had left a surprise for the guy in his room. There were other people riding up with them, going back to their own rooms, all on the same floor, but the only person Koutarou cared about was Akaashi.

Would he like it? Would he hate it? Would Koutarou get to experience the annoyed aura that Kuroo had talked about? Would it be worth it, as Kuroo had said it was?

Koutarou’s room was closest to the elevator, he stood at the door, and watched on as Akaashi walked the extra couple of metres to his own door.

Akaashi noticed.

“Are you not going inside Bokuto-san?” He questioned, tilting his head to one side. It was adorable. If he looked the same way every time he questioned Kuroo’s continued presence around him at the office it was easy for Koutarou to see why Kuroo continued to talk to him even after being called annoying.

“ _Aha_!” Koutarou forced a laugh. “I keep getting the timing wrong on the card.”

“Ah.” Akaashi nodded his head in understanding, and Koutarou watched as Akaashi swiped his card through the reader, and heard the happy beep followed by a click and Akaashi moving the handle to open his door.

This was immediately followed by Akaashi being swallowed up by balloons tumbling from the doorway, and a crash as he slipped to the floor.

“Akaashi-san are you okay?”

Some of the balloons floated to the ceiling, but many more simply lolled about on the floor. Koutarou had to kick them out of the way to reach Akaashi, two popped balloons resting under his legs.

“I’m fine, I think I tripped on one of them.” More balloons floated out from the doorway, and Koutarou helped Akaashi to his feet.

“Do you think they got the wrong room?” Akaashi asked, plucking a balloon out from the chaos that had _happy birthday_ printed across it in silver ink. “It’s not my birthday.”

So Koutarou _had_ lied, but only with the best intentions. Akaashi had started talking to him! Koutarou hadn’t even ordered the balloons that read happy birthday, those must have just been from the hotel. How nice.

“How many balloons do you think are here?” Koutarou had ordered a hundred. A nice even number. Ten bouquets of ten balloons. One to make up for each conference they had been at together that Koutarou could remember. He couldn’t even see the bouquets though, all he could see were the loose balloons floating out the door, across the floor and some walking their way along the ceiling.

“I don’t know. One hundred at least-”

“-Yeah that’s what I ordered-”

“-Whoever planned the birthday surprise must be even more surprised now that there’s nothing there-”

“-but this is way more than I ordered.”

“You planned this?”

“Yes!” Koutarou shouted. “Did you like it? Did it surprise you?”

“It was certainly a surprise. However it’s not my birthday. Whoever told you it was got it wrong.”

“Nobody told me it was your birthday! I didn’t do the birthday balloons that was the hotel. It was how I convinced them to let me put the balloons I _did_ get in your room. Pretty cool though, hey!”

“Why did you want to put balloons in my room Bokuto-san?”

“I thought it might break the ice and we could be friends!” He stopped searching for his own bouquets through the mess of balloons in the doorway and turned to Akaashi, a big smile pulling at his mouth. “It worked!”

“This makes us friends?”

“You don’t wanna be friends?”

“I didn’t say that, it’s fine.”

“Hey, hey, hey! I’m the best, it worked! I have to tell Kuroo!”


End file.
